Tropical Storm Emily reminds us of the importance of our Resiliency plans.

It is imperative that the City continues raising streets and installing larger stormwater pumps and pipes. We are only 15% complete with this $500M project, and are still 8 years away from project completion. We need reassess the role of temporary vs. permanent generators in the City's plans, and will do so. Like Tropical Storm Emily, there will always be periodic exceptional storms that exceed the stormwater system design criteria.

At our recent July Miami Beach Commission Meeting, we updated the implementation schedule (see below) for the new public infrastructure and adopted important new ordinances that:

(1) establish Sea Level Rise and Resiliency Criteria within the Land Development Regulations and requires our Land Use Boards to evaluate that information in their decision making. This will encourage climate adaptation and mitigation in residential and commercial projects.

The time for homeowners to start crafting our own long-term adaptation plans is now. We are all part of #MBRisingABove.

As always, my door is open for your questions and comments.

Sincerely,

Commissioner John Elizabeth Alemán

johnaleman@miamibeachfl.gov

Stormwater and Road Raising Timeline:

8 years of work remain in our flooding mitigation program

But first, some terminology.

The City of Miami Beach uses the term "Neighborhood Improvement Projects" to describe an important family of infrastructure projects being completed at the same time:

water main replacement

expanded capacity stormwater pipes and pump installation

road elevation

sanitary sewer replacement

utility impacts

lighting improvements

landscaping remediation

These components are being addressed simultaneously in order to avoid tearing up streets more than once in any given neighborhood.

Originally scheduled as a 10-year project, Miami Beach recently adjusted the Neighborhood Improvement Project Timeline to reflect a more realistic rollout, now completing in 2025.

In each neighborhood, the typical project duration is 24 months.

As a barrier island with only a few North / South arterial roadways, the schedule attempts to minimize traffic impacts while addressing lowest-lying neighborhoods first.

City-wide, Miami Beach will spend approximately $500M on these Neighborhood Improvement Projects to keep us dry in the face of sea level rise. The bigger pipes, mechanical pumps and higher streets help protect our homes and our nest eggs.

Miami Beach cannot elevate all of our roads at once. We have to take our medicine a little bit at a time to avoid crippling the City from the traffic and congestion associated with road construction.

The construction projects are an annoyance. No one likes torn up roads and dirt everywhere. Traffic is a pain. But in the end, our patience will pay off as these improvements will keep our City and our homes dry in the face of future storms and high tides.

How High Will the Roads Be?

The City of Miami Beach policy direction is to raise all roads to3.7' NAVD88. This standard looks forward to around the year 2055. It is not necessary to understand the NAVD terminology. Identifying the current elevation of your home relative to the future elevation of the road in front of it is adequate for you to make your own plans and decisions.

What You Should Do Now to Plan

1. Get Your Elevation Certificate

You might already have one from your most recent flood insurance application. If not, you can have one prepared for around $100.

Contact a professional and experienced surveyor.

2. Use theAdaptation Calculator

Armed with your elevation certificate, you can determine the future elevation of the public right-of-way in comparison to your driveway and your home’s finished floor elevation.

As these bedrock samples illustrate, the City of Miami Beach has a porous foundation.

What About Seawalls?

Unlike other parts of the world, we cannot protect our homes with only levees or seawalls: ground water levels are rising and coming up from underneath us through the small holes and cracks in the bedrock.

Of the 63 miles of seawalls in Miami Beach, only 3 miles are publicly owned. A private seawall owner can expect to spend $1000-$1500 per linear foot to bring an old seawall up to code (this is a general rule of thumb of course).

While homeowners are not being required by the City to replace seawalls now, all new seawalls are being required to be more resilient.

New seawall construction guidelines have been changed to ensure that all new seawalls can be elevated to a height of 5.7' NAVD.

To see what the new regulations for seawall construction are like, you can visit the City's new seawall at 23rd and North Bay Road, or the Cherokee Avenue street end in Lakeview.

Moving Miami Beach Forward Together!

Whether you are a Miami Beach resident or a business owner in our community, my office is here to help! My door is always open, so feel free to stop by or e-mail me at johnaleman@miamibeachfl.gov.

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